Greece will suspend processing asylum applications for migrants arriving by sea from North Africa for an initial three-month period, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told Parliament on Wednesday. Draft legislation is due to be submitted on Thursday. The government says anyone entering the country illegally will be arrested, detained and, where possible, returned to Libya. Athens cites an abrupt rise in crossings on the Libyan route to Crete and the nearby islet of Gavdos. More than 7,300 people have reached the two islands so far this year, already exceeding the 5,000 recorded in all of 2024, according to government and aid-agency estimates. Nearly 2,000 landed in recent days alone, and the coastguard rescued about 520 migrants from a fishing vessel 17 nautical miles south of Gavdos early Wednesday. The spike has strained local shelters, prompting the deployment of two navy frigates and additional coastguard patrols off Crete. Mitsotakis said the measure is modeled on a 2020 order that briefly halted asylum claims at Greece’s land border with Turkey and is intended to discourage smugglers and would-be passengers. The European Commission said it is seeking clarifications from Athens to ensure the plan complies with EU asylum law. Greece, on the front line of the 2015-16 migrant crisis, is pressing Libya for closer cooperation to curb departures toward its southern shores.